HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) has announced that it will be giving special treatment to non-residents who are forced to stay in the UK exceeding their permitted number of days. With quite a few expats unable to leave due to closed borders and lock downs, I was expecting an announcement and this is helpful news.
In November 2019, the UAE Government announced a new law for personal insolvency, to assist people with debt problems, and this has now come into effect. This is a real game changer as it will give people in difficulties an opportunity to repay what they owe with manageable payments and removes the threat of jail time.
In this article I will cover some of the main points and requirements but I will also update it, if and when there are any changes.
This articles has been update so please see the below link for the article from August 2024
Living in the UAE. 10 major money mistakes you want to avoid
Living in the UAE. 10 major money mistakes you want to avoid
These are the official dates of public holidays for the UAE for the coming year, as well as notable dates, so you can make a note in your diary now and plan ahead. Actual days of holiday for both the public and private sector should be the same and these are the dates announced by the UAE Government.
As usual, dates of Islamic holidays will be subject to slight variation, dependent on moon sighting, and others may also change.
With this in mind, this article will be updated throughout the year as any changes are announced.
| Occasion | Date | Day of the week | No. of Days |
| New Year’s Day | January 1st | Wednesday | 1 |
| Beginning of Ramadan* | April 24th | Friday | 0 |
| Eid Al Fitr* | May 23rd | Saturday | 4 |
| Arafat (Haj) Day* | July 29th | Wednesday | 1 |
| Eid Al Adha* | July 30th | Thursday | 3 |
| Hijri New Year’s Day* | August 23rd | Sunday | 1 |
| Prophet’s Birthday | October 29th | Thursday | 1 |
| Commemoration Day | December 1st | Tuesday | 1 |
| UAE National Day | December 2nd & 3rd | Wednesday & Thursday | 2 |
| *Islamic holiday dates are dependent on moon sighting and all are subject to confirmation and may change | |||
I write articles such as this one as part of the holistic personal financial planning service and that I provide to expats, and the general consumer, financial and legal information that I provide in The National newspaper, on Capital Radio UAE, and on the Facebook group British Expats Dubai.
To arrange a meeting to discuss any aspect of your personal financial planning, please email me at keren@holbornassets.com Please take a look at the other useful articles on this website.
Source: UAE Government Communications Office
A few years ago the UK Government in conjunction with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced that they would be introducing a new residence test. The intention was to clarify the status of people both leaving and arriving in the UK and there has been considerable discussion regarding exactly how and when to implement this.
The aim originally was to bring these new rules into effect from 6th April 2012, but this has been postponed to 6th April 2013. The purpose of this post is to provide you with an overview of the current proposals, as amended by the draft legislation that was published in December 2012. We are still however, awaiting the final legislation so it is possible the rules could be changed again before they come into force, although we do not anticipate anything major to change. Continue reading